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US stock index futures pointed to a flat open (SPY -0.02%), as investors eyed a fresh batch of corporate earnings reports, as well as the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan's policy meetings scheduled later in the week. Oil prices are struggled near the lowest level in almost three months as WTI is falling sharply past the mid 43's.

(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc said Monday it would buy Yahoo Inc's core internet properties for $4.83 billion in cash to expand its digital advertising and media business, in a deal that ends a lengthy sale process for the fading Web pioneer.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Shares in Nintendo Co tumbled as much as 18 percent on Monday after the company said Pokemon GO would have a limited impact on its earnings - their biggest setback so far after a huge run-up on the smash-hit game.

BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - Europe's Commissioner for Justice is working with EU consumer groups to pressure Volkswagen to compensate clients in Europe as it has in the United States over the diesel emissions scandal.

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. and European buyout funds are gearing up for SABMiller's sale of its central and eastern European beer brands with some seeking to join forces to snap up assets worth up to 7 billion euros ($7.69 billion), sources familiar with the matter said.

CHENGDU, China (Reuters) - The world's biggest economies will work to support global growth and better share the benefits of trade, policymakers said on Sunday after a meeting dominated by the impact of Britain's exit from Europe and fears of rising protectionism.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A bitter shareholder row at China's largest property developer is a first big test for the country's new securities chief, appointed earlier this year to heal the wounds of last year's stock market meltdown and restore investor confidence.

LONDON (Reuters) - Retail tycoon Philip Green's greed and disregard for corporate governance led to the demise of BHS and cost 11,000 jobs, a report by British lawmakers said, calling the collapse of the stores group "the unacceptable face of capitalism".

Gold is in a bull market for a number of reasons including political risk and there is "every reason for it to continue" according to Dominic Frisby writing in the UK's best selling financial publication Money Week.

Stockcharts.com via Money Week as seen in article

He points out that "one of the reasons to own gold is as a hedge against government." He warns that increasing political risk, as seen with Brexit, is on the horizon with the U.S. election and the rise of Trump and Clinton and indeed elections in the two largest economies in the EU:

"We've got the US election too, in which neither candidate has you exactly salivating, then France and Germany - whose leaders are unpopular - have their own elections in 2017. "

Frisby kindly mentions GoldCore as a company to buy gold from and concludes

Almost a decade after Microsoft made an unsolicited bid to acquire Yahoo for $50 billion, moments ago Verizon confirmed recent rumors that it would acquire Yahoo operating business for approximately $4.83 billion in cash, far below initial estimates floated several months ago that the segment could sell for as much as $10 billion.

As the WSJ adds, the price tag, which includes Yahoo's core internet business and some real estate, is a remarkable fall for the Silicon Valley web pioneer that once had a market capitalization of more than $125 billion at the height of the dot-com boom.

For New York-based Verizon, the deal simply adds another piece to the digital media and advertising business it is trying to build. The companies said the deal is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Yahoo's shareholders, and is expected to close in early 2017.

The sale doesn't include, among other things, Yahoo's cash, its shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. , its shares in Yahoo Japan, and Yahoo's noncore patents, called the Excalibur portfolio. These assets will continue to be held by Yahoo, which will change its name at closing and become a registered, publicly traded investment company.

So how much does Marissa Meyer - who may soon be unemployed - collect for "creating value" at the company during her 5 year tenure? Somewhere around $300 million. In the press release the future role for Mayer was not outlined; however, she is unlikely to have a promin ...

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Carmike Cinemas Inc. said Monday they had agreed to a sweetened takeover deal at more than $800 million, after a vote to approve the deal was twice postponed following concerns among some Carmike shareholders that the sale price was too low.

Apple takes center stage on the extremely crowded earnings schedule this week as the market continues to feast on a diet of new highs. We banged out another on Friday, and despite a rather tepid start in markets, more are likely on the way.

U.S. stock futures struggle for direction on Monday, as investors stay cautious ahead of a busy news week with earnings kicking into high hear and more than a dozen central banks holding policy meetings.

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